Matthew 21:1-11

The Triumphal Entry

21:1 Now ¹  when they approached Jerusalem ²  and came to Bethphage, ³  at the Mount of Olives, ⁴  Jesus sent two disciples, 21:2 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. ⁵  Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 21:3 If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ ⁶  and he will send them at once.” 21:4 This ⁷  took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: ⁸ 

21:5 “Tell the people of Zion, ⁹ 

‘Look, your king is coming to you,

unassuming and seated on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” ¹⁰ 

21:6 So ¹¹  the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 21:7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks ¹²  on them, and he sat on them. 21:8 A ¹³  very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 21:9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, ¹⁴  “Hosanna ¹⁵  to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁶  Hosanna in the highest!” 21:10 As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, ¹⁷  saying, “Who is this?” 21:11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth ¹⁸  in Galilee.”

Luke 19:29-40

19:29 Now ¹⁹  when he approached Bethphage ²⁰  and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, ²¹  he sent two of the disciples, 19:30 telling them, ²²  “Go to the village ahead of you. ²³  When ²⁴  you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. ²⁵  Untie it and bring it here. 19:31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs ²⁶  it.’” 19:32 So those who were sent ahead found ²⁷  it exactly ²⁸  as he had told them. 19:33 As ²⁹  they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ³⁰  “Why are you untying that colt?” 19:34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 19:35 Then ³¹  they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks ³²  on the colt, ³³  and had Jesus get on ³⁴  it. 19:36 As ³⁵  he rode along, they ³⁶  spread their cloaks on the road. 19:37 As he approached the road leading down from ³⁷  the Mount of Olives, ³⁸  the whole crowd of his ³⁹  disciples began to rejoice ⁴⁰  and praise ⁴¹  God with a loud voice for all the mighty works ⁴²  they had seen: ⁴³  19:38 “Blessed is the king ⁴⁴  who comes in the name of the Lord! ⁴⁵  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 19:39 But ⁴⁶  some of the Pharisees ⁴⁷  in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁸  19:40 He answered, ⁴⁹  “I tell you, if they ⁵⁰  keep silent, the very stones ⁵¹  will cry out!”

John 12:14-19

12:14 Jesus found a young donkey ⁵²  and sat on it, just as it is written, 12:15 “Do not be afraid, people of Zion; ⁵³  look, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!” ⁵⁴  12:16 (His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened, ⁵⁵  but when Jesus was glorified, ⁵⁶  then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened ⁵⁷  to him.) ⁵⁸ 

12:17 So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it. ⁵⁹  12:18 Because they had heard that Jesus ⁶⁰  had performed this miraculous sign, the crowd went out to meet him. 12:19 Thus the Pharisees ⁶¹  said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing. Look, the world has run off after him!”

[21:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[21:1]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[21:1]  ³ sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most put it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.

[21:1]  ⁴ sn “Mountain” in English generally denotes a higher elevation than it often does in reference to places in Palestine. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 30 meters (100 ft) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

[21:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “the village lying before you” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.b).

[21:3]  ⁶ sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.

[21:4]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “what was spoken by the prophet, saying.” The present participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant and has not been translated.

[21:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “Tell the daughter of Zion” (the phrase “daughter of Zion” is an idiom for the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “people of Zion”). The idiom “daughter of Zion” has been translated as “people of Zion” because the original idiom, while firmly embedded in the Christian tradition, is not understandable to most modern English readers.

[21:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the foal of an animal under the yoke,” i.e., a hard-working animal. This is a quotation from Zech 9:9.

[21:6]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ instructions in vv. 2-3.

[21:7]  ¹² tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.

[21:8]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “were shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντας (legontas) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[21:9]  ¹⁵ tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.

[21:9]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.

[21:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “was shaken.” The translation “thrown into an uproar” is given by L&N 25.233.

[21:11]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map1 D3; Map2 C2; Map3 D5; Map4 C1; Map5 G3.

[19:29]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[19:29]  ²⁰ sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most locate it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.

[19:29]  ²¹ tn Grk “at the mountain called ‘of Olives.’” This form of reference is awkward in contemporary English, so the more familiar “Mount of Olives” has been used in the translation.

[19:30]  ²² tn Grk “saying.”

[19:30]  ²³ tn Grk “the village lying before [you]” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.a).

[19:30]  ²⁴ tn Grk “in which entering.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but because of the length and complexity of the construction a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[19:30]  ²⁵ tn Grk “a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat.”

[19:31]  ²⁶ sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.

[19:32]  ²⁷ tn Grk “sent ahead and went and found.”

[19:32]  ²⁸ sn Exactly as he had told them. Nothing in Luke 19-23 catches Jesus by surprise. Often he directs the action.

[19:33]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:33]  ³⁰ tn Grk “said to them.”

[19:35]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[19:35]  ³² tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.

[19:35]  ³³ sn See Zech 9:9.

[19:35]  ³⁴ tn Although ἐπεβίβασαν (epebibasan) is frequently translated “set [Jesus] on it” or “put [Jesus] on it,” when used of a riding animal the verb can mean “to cause to mount” (L&N 15.98); thus here “had Jesus get on it.” The degree of assistance is not specified.

[19:36]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:36]  ³⁶ tn The disciples initiated this action (since in 19:35 and 37 they are the subject) but the other gospels indicate the crowds also became involved. Thus it is difficult to specify the referent here as “the disciples” or “people.”

[19:37]  ³⁷ tn Grk “the descent of”; this could refer to either the slope of the hillside itself or the path leading down from it (the second option has been adopted for the translation, see L&N 15.109).

[19:37]  ³⁸ sn See the note on the name Mount of Olives in v. 29.

[19:37]  ³⁹ tn Grk “the”; the Greek article has been translated here as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[19:37]  ⁴⁰ tn Here the participle χαίροντες (caironte") has been translated as a finite verb in English; it could also be translated adverbially as a participle of manner: “began to praise God joyfully.”

[19:37]  ⁴¹ sn See 2:13, 20; Acts 2:47; 3:8-9.

[19:37]  ⁴² tn Or “works of power,” “miracles.” Jesus’ ministry of miracles is what has drawn attention. See Luke 7:22.

[19:37]  ⁴³ tn Grk “they had seen, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[19:38]  ⁴⁴ sn Luke adds the title king to the citation from Ps 118:26 to make clear who was meant (see Luke 18:38). The psalm was used in looking for the deliverance of the end, thus leading to the Pharisees’ reaction.

[19:38]  ⁴⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 118:26.

[19:39]  ⁴⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context. Not all present are willing to join in the acclamation.

[19:39]  ⁴⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[19:39]  ⁴⁸ sn Teacher, rebuke your disciples. The Pharisees were complaining that the claims were too great.

[19:40]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “and answering, he said.” This has been simplified in the translation to “He answered.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:40]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “these.”

[19:40]  ⁵¹ sn This statement amounts to a rebuke. The idiom of creation speaking means that even creation knows what is taking place, yet the Pharisees miss it. On this idiom, see Gen 4:10 and Hab 2:11.

[12:14]  ⁵² sn The author does not repeat the detailed accounts of the finding of the donkey recorded in the synoptic gospels. He does, however, see the event as a fulfillment of scripture, which he indicates by quoting Zech 9:9.

[12:15]  ⁵³ tn Grk “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion” (the phrase “daughter of Zion” is an idiom for the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “people of Zion”). The idiom “daughter of Zion” has been translated as “people of Zion” because the original idiom, while firmly embedded in the Christian tradition, is not understandable to most modern English readers.

[12:15]  ⁵⁴ sn A quotation from Zech 9:9.

[12:16]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “did not understand these things at first”; Grk “formerly.”

[12:16]  ⁵⁶ sn When Jesus was glorified, that is, glorified through his resurrection, exaltation, and return to the Father. Jesus’ glorification is consistently portrayed this way in the Gospel of John.

[12:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “and that they had done these things,” though the referent is probably indefinite and not referring to the disciples; as such, the best rendering is as a passive (see ExSyn 402-3; R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:458).

[12:16]  ⁵⁸ sn The comment His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened (a parenthetical note by the author) informs the reader that Jesus’ disciples did not at first associate the prophecy from Zechariah with the events as they happened. This came with the later (postresurrection) insight which the Holy Spirit would provide after Jesus’ resurrection and return to the Father. Note the similarity with John 2:22, which follows another allusion to a prophecy in Zechariah (14:21).

[12:17]  ⁵⁹ tn The word “it” is not included in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[12:18]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:19]  ⁶¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.